60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll: January Edition

What better time is there than the New Year to take stock of ourselves and resolve to find what Lincoln termed "the better angels of our nature"? The country has been hit hard by bad weather, a tough economy and long term unemployment. America is known to be a nation of optimists, it's in our DNA. We know things can and will get better when we pull together and summon some old fashioned self-reliance.

According to Emerson, it is a recipe comprised of vision, determination, hard work and a can do spirit among other things.

Sprinkle in a little faith, hope and charity and America's best is yet to come. To all of our friends out there, keep going, the American Family needs everyone's best self. A most happy and healthy New Year to you all from the 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll. And now, January's results:

Half of Americans say they wouldn't care if there was a lockout next year and there were no NFL games to watch. That is surprising when you factor in the television ratings behemoth that the NFL has become. It is by far the most watched programming in the country, and only a few shows (we won't name others but...) even come close to it. In 2010, eight out of the top ten rated shows for the year were NFL games. That said, 31 percent figure they'll settle their differences because everybody has too much to lose if they don't. Ten percent say that if there's a strike they might spend less time on the couch with their Buddy Weiser, and a hardcore nine percent said that it would flat out ruin their sports year.

Hollywood's latest movies don't appear to be wowing the patrons like say 1939, Hollywood's golden year. That was the apex of the studio system that would never be the same after World War II. A snapshot at the end of 2010 looked like this: 22 percent said there were too many remakes and sequels. That comes from a combination of a lack of good scripts and ideas, coupled with a play-it-safe attitude to profit from tried and true franchises. Twenty one percent said the trailers are better than the movies. How many times have you seen a long trailer that gives away everything in the movie and say to yourself, "Well I just saw that movie"? Eighteen percent said they don't know which is not good because they must not go to many movies. Seventeen percent think they need better writers and seven percent think they need better actors. Finally 15 percent think the movies have never been better. It won't shock you to learn that most of this group is comprised of younger viewers that have probably had less exposure to truly great films and the impact they can have on their generation.

Forty percent correctly chose quadrillion as the next logical step up the national debt ladder; 36 percent don't know (hopefully they'll never have to). Next up were gazillion (12 percent) and bazillion (seven percent) commonly used humorously to express a made up number that implies an ungodly amount of money that could never possibly be paid back. Come to think of it.....

Emily Post is smiling somewhere. The lady of manners was on to this a long time ago: 36 percent think that teaching manners should be mandatory throughout a child's education. If you've been out in the world and witnessed some examples of today's lack of manners you might heartily agree. Thirty two percent think the value of a dollar should be taught (to avoid the hypocrisy label it might be better if our leaders learned it first). Eighteen percent said interpersonal relationships, but how do you teach that?

Finally nine percent chose personal hygiene. If you're near someone who is hygienically challenged you might be reminded of the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him wash with it."

Eighty six percent of Americans would keep all of their memories intact just the way they are, warts and all. Only 13 percent would remove a bad memory if they could. Everyone has experienced or done things they would like to forget, it's called being human. Fortunately, America is the motherland of second chances and second acts, makeovers and do-overs, mulligans and renaissances. We love the phoenix that can rise out of the ashes even if his name is Dick Nixon. So if you've got a terrible memory don't feel too bad, we're all about forgiving and forgetting.

Forty nine percent of fashion conscious Americans want a wide assortment of looks in their sartorial arsenal and don't want any of the items to go out of style. Twelve percent have had it up to their necks with bow-ties and 11 percent don't support wearing suspenders. Nine percent say no sweat pants, while eight percent say high heels are a pain. Women's pant suits (five percent) and tuxedoes (two percent) are the safest, good news for Hill and Bill Clinton at their next formal affair.

Twenty three percent of Americans would fix the Middle East and the myriad of issues associated with that unstable region. Earthquake torn Haiti is next with 14 percent, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (12 percent) and our own citizens in New Orleans (12 percent) still dealing with the after effects of Katrina. The big winner with 36 percent was our nation's capital. Americans correctly chose to fix our own ills before we dispense our aid elsewhere in the world (file under physician heal thyself first). But were the 36 percent referring to our broken and divisive government or the horrible plight of thousands of our own citizens in the District that are not able to share in the American Dream?

In order to balance the budget, 61 percent of Americans would rather start by taxing the rich more and 20 percent would cut defense spending. Very few people would mess with Medicare (four percent) or cut Social Security (three percent).

Americans are very evenly divided on which fantasy world they would visit with each unique destination getting between 15 percent and 18 percent of the vote. The bigger picture is that only 13 percent voted none, meaning that 87 percent were open to the fantasy diversion and escapism that makes people more interesting. Bravo America!

Only four percent of Americans admitted to belonging to a country club or can still afford one, take your pick. Forty three percent would never join one and another 43 percent would join if they would have them. Groucho Marx nailed it when he said, "I would never join a club that would have me as a member."

Happy New Year!!!